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5/5/2014 6:00AM

Jerry Seib: Senate Democrats' Win-Win on Keystone

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is set to hold a vote on the Keystone XL pipeline, a project that has divided the Democratic Party. However, holding a vote may be a win-win for Democrats allowing red-state members to to cast an approving vote while still rejecting the project.

This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.

I ... the big questions in this midterm election years with Democrats can save the jobs open up a being of their incumbent senators for a conservative states to keep control the Senate ... is getting interesting exercise on that front this weekend it'll come in the Senate and the question will be ... while the Senate bring to the floor will there be a vote on a will there be passage of ... a resolution that will order at least attempt order President Obama to approve the Keystone XL pipeline as the pipeline this post to bring tar sands oil from Canada down the center of U S and one for dispersal to refineries is not popular with environmentalists in the Democratic base but is really popular in some red states where Democrats are running for re-election to the Senate ... states like North Carolina were Kay Hagan is trying to win ... Louisiana were Mary Landrieu very much once this pipeline to be approved ... Harry Reid said last week in an interview with The Wall Street Journal that he was inclined to bring this to a vote may be as early as this week the questions are multiple here one is will he actually do that secondly will it get the sixty votes that will be needed to pass it in the Senate ... and the third is will the Obama administration try to stop this from happening maybe a likely outcome would be that it comes to the floor it doesn't get the sixty votes to red state Democrats ... get to cast a vote for it anyway ... maybe the best of all worlds for the Democrats ... the Obama administration doesn't have to live with the pro Proposition doesn't like because it tries to force the administration's hands one the other hand red state Democrats get to vote for him to go home and brag about that ...